Activated changeable advertising sign



Feb. 21, 1967 w, G N ET AL 3,304,638

ACTIVATED CHANGEABLE ADVERTISING SIGN Filed April 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS h ML/AM A. GZANDELL JAMEs M. WASSOIV Rwy/+2.0 z. w/isso/v Feb. 21, 1967 GRANDELL ET AL 3,304,638

ACTIVATED CHANGE-ABLE ADVERTISING SIGN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1964 L T 2% 1 E 05 5 I N S i/ mm I GM v W U mmm 7 u w Map United States Patent ACTIVATED CHANGEABLE ADVERTISING SIGN William A. Grandell, Worth, 11].; James M. Wasson, 2930 S. Harlem Ave., Riverside, Iii. 60546; and Richard Z. Wesson, 356 E. Walnut St, Frankfort, Ind. 46041;

said Grandeil assignor to said James M. Wasson Filed Apr. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 357,104 10 Claims. (CI. 40-76) Our invention is directed to novel activated advertising signs having louvers with different display bearing faces, and having novel means for mounting said louvers and novel mechanism for transmitting motion from a driven shaft to said louvers which mechanism is disengageable and made inoperative upon obstruction of rota-tion of said louvers.

Important objects of our invention are:

(a) To provide an advertising sign having movable and slidable driven louvers and having a novel movement transmission mechanism which causes only one specific driven element to move another specific mating element connected to said louvers wherein such specific mating elements will only move a louver to a specific position, whereby said louvers will be maintained and driven in parallel and in sign matching positions.

(b) To provide a novel activated advertising sign having a plurality of rotatably mounted triangular sign-bearing louvers and having a movement transmission mechanism between a power driven shaft and said louvers which is adapted to be disconnected when any one or more of said louvers are obstructed against rotation; and which said mechanism will be returned to operative position after one or more of said obstructed louvers is returned to normal free position, and wherein means are provided for rotation and for longitudinal upward movement of each of said louvers.

(c) To provide a novel activated advertising sign having a plurality of louvers of triangular cross section adapted to bear separate matching displays in which said louvers are rotatably and slidably mounted and which include a clutch-like mechanism for transmitting rotative power to said louvers which mechanism is disengageable by obstruction of normal rotation of any of said louvers.

Other and further important objects of our invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims.

The foregoing objects and accomplishments of our invention of great importance due to the fact that presently known advertising signs having driven rotatable displaybearing louvers are frequently broken and rendered inoperative by mischievious insertion of physical objects between louvers or in the sign which render the signs inoperative and cause great damage thereto including breakage of the driving means thereof. Such damaging acts result in necessity of costly repairs and sending of experienced mechanics to the locations of such signs.

On the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partially perspective view of our novel activated advertising sign, with parts broken away to show interior portions.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end View of one lower end portion of one of the triangular sign louvers, with parts broken away and in sections.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partially cross sectional and partially elevational view of the lower right hand portion of FIG. 1 and illustrating a part of the motion transmitting mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a driven spider or rotor and taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the driving arm-bearing member and taken on line 55 of FIG. 3.

3,304,638 Patented Feb. 21, 1967 ice As illustrated in FIG. 1, numeral 10 designates a frame, casing or housing which is preferably made of metal and is preferably of rectangular form. Said frame 10 includes upper and lower parallel horizontal connecting walls 11 and 12 which connect opposite vertical side walls and which may be welded at this respective puncture.

Numeral 13 designates an upper apertured flat metal horizontal mounting bar or plate whose ends are suitably welded to the side walls of casing 10 to hold same spaced inwardly from upper wall 11.

Numeral 14 designates a lower metal apertured mounting bar secured at its ends by welding to side wallsof casing 10 a short distance above lower wall 12 to provide a horizontal chamber 15.

Numeral 16 designates a plurality of sign members, louvers or sign bearing units preferably made of metal, and shown in cross section in FIG. 2. These are preferably formed from sheet metal into triangular tubes and metal end caps 17 having angular flanges are mounted and secured by rivets 18 into the opposite ends of said tubes as shown in FIG. 2.

Secured by screws in the center of each of the upper end caps is a reinforcing disk 19 to each of which is secured, preferably by welding, a perpendicular spindle or stub shaft 26. Said spindles or stub shafts 20 may optionally be formed integral with said louvers or signbearing units 16. Stub shafts 20 are mounted to extend upwardly through spaced apart holes in upper mounting bar 13 to journal the upper parts of the sign louvers 16 in equally spaced apart position so that their adjacent longitudinal edges will be close together when the louver faces are presented to forward view. Suitable metal collars 22 are secured on the respective stub shafts 20 above the mounting bar 13, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Numeral 21 designates sign letters either applied or painted or physically attached upon the respective 3 faces of the louvers 16 so that any desired sign, either letters, words or pictures, may be applied to the three flat faces of said louvers in a way that when any of matching faces are presented in a forward parallel plane, the desired message or picture will be visible. It will be understood that three messages or pictures will be reproduced on the respective faces of the louvers 16 so that the 3 signs will be successively presented to view in the manner hereinafter described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, secured centrally in each of the lower end caps 17 of louvers or units 16 is a perpendicular depending stub shaft 23 and an upper metal bushing 24 through which said shaft extends. The upper portion of each of said stub shafts is preferably welded in an apertured metal disk or washer 25 which is secured by rivets or screws 26 to the middle portion of each end cap as shown in FIG. 3.

Each of said shafts 23 is slidably mounted and journalled in and extends through a metal bushing 27 which is secured in a suitably spaced hole in mounting bar 14.

We provide a clutch-like mechanism to transmit the power from a electrically driven shaft to said shafts of said sign louvers or units which is automatically disconnected upon elevation of any of said louvers which may be obstructed against rotation, one form thereof being described in the following:

An expansion coil spring 28 is mounted about each of said shafts 23 and bears against the lower end of the fixed lower bushing 27. Secured by a screw 29 on the lower end of each shaft 23 is a recessed hub member, collar or rotor 30, having inner annular shoulders 31. The lower portion of said springs bears against shoulders 31, and said springs 28 are adapted to aid in pushing downward to operative position said shafts and the louvers thereof.

Each of said rotors or hub members 30 has mounted thereon, in different horizontal planes, three fingers, projections or stubs 32, 33 and 34 respectively which are 120 degrees apart and spaced apart vertically as well as circum'ferentially. It will be understood that rotation of rotors 30 will correspondingly rotate said louvers 16.

A horizontal drive shaft 35 has its opposite end portions journalled in aligned bearings and holes in the lower portions of the opposite vertical side walls of easing frame and its inter-mediate portion also extends through and is journalled in holes in spaced apart intermediate vertical reinforcing webs 36 which are partially illustrated in the lower part of FIG. 1. The right hand end portion of said drive shaft 35 is connected to a driven shaft (not shown) of a speed reducer 37 which is operatively connected to and driven by an electrical motor 38, shown diagrammatically at the right of FIG. 1.

Numerals 4t) design-ate a plurality of apertured driving members, spiders or sprockets, each thereof having an integral hub 41 and having 3 radial spokes, pins or arms 42, 43 and 44 which are spaced apart 120 degrees and which arms are of different lengths as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Said sprockets 40 are secured in horizontally spaced apart positions on drive shaft 35 so that the arms 42, 43 and 44 will engage and when rotated, push the radially extending stubs of said rotors 30, said securance being by means of pins 46 which are securely mounted in diametric holes in hubs 41 and in diametric holes formed in shaft 35. The outer portions of said arms are preferably beveled at the areas of this normal contact with the studs of rotors 30, as indicated at 47.

This provides for all of the louvers to be simultaneously moved to parallel positions wherein the mating or matching faces of the louvers will be presented to view only by the co-action of the longest arm 42 with uppermost stud 33; that only the co-action of intermediatelength arms 43 will move the louvers to present another of plurality of sign-matching faces to view; and that the co-action of the shortest arm 44 with the lowermost stud 32 will move the louvers 120 degrees to present a still different combination of matching faces to view.

The aforesaid feature of construction has the important advantage of permitting any one or more of the louvers to be obstructed against rotation without affecting the continued movement of the other free louvers and without breaking and damaging the motion transmission mechanism.

When any one or more of the louvers are manually stopped or by mischievious insertion of articles against or into the sign, the particular louver obstructed to rotation will be raised a short distance upwardly, through sliding engagement of the upper and lower stub shafts thereof and against the normal expansion of the spring 28. Such elevation will move the rotor 30 and its radial pins or studs out of the path of rotative movement of the arms of sprocket 40, so that the driving and transmission mechanism and the other louvers may continue moving.

The further important advantage which accrues from the described power transmission mechanisms is that, when a non-moving or obstructed louver is freed of obstructing means, such freed louver and its rotor will drop by gravity to its lower operative position, against the action of spring 28.

When a sign unit is obstructed against rotation, the engagement of any one of the driving arms pushes its rotor and its sign unit to uppermost position and in such upper position the normally enforced rotation of the rotor stops after the longest driving arm pushes the longest pin toward the rear of the sign. As the rotor and its horizontal pins have been moved to upper position, the shorter arm 44 and the intermediate length driven arm cannot reach or contact the two lower pins of the rotor. Therefore the rotor and its connected sign unit remains stopped as the two shorter driving arms by-pass the rotor pins.

Only when the sign unit is released from an external stopping force, the sign unit will drop, with its rotor and horizontal arms, to its lower normal position and thereupon, as the shorter arm and the intermediate length arm are driven, the same will not reach and will not engage and will by-pass the uppermost pin 32. During such by-passing movement the rotor and its sign unit will remain still. Only when the longest driving arm reaches and contacts the uppermost pin 32, a rotating movement of /3 of a turn is imparted to the uppermost arm, to rotor 30 and its sign unit. That rotating movement imparted by the longest arm 42 through uppermost pin 32 brings the correct face of the sign unit into correct displaying position simultaneous with the correct displaying position of the other sign units of the group mounted in the sign.

This results in the previously obstructed sign-bearing louver resuming its correct sign matching position, and then being driven in correct sign matching position.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be restored to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter and it is contemplated that various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention or any features thereof, and nothing herein shall be construed as limitations upon the invention, its concept or structural embodiment as to the whole or any part thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In an advertising sign;

comprising a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangular-ly faced sign-bearing units,

each of said sign-bearing units having mounted thereon a joumalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

said shafts rotatably mounting said sign units relative to said bars;

a plurality of hub members operatively mounted on said lower shafts respectively, each of said hub members having a plurality of radial studs mounted in different vertical planes;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

a plurality of driving sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having a plurality of radial arms of varying lengths thereon;

said arms when rotated, being adapted to engage and push said studs of said hubs respectively to cause intermittent partial rotation of said sign-bearing units;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units;

each one of said arms being adapted to engage only one of said studs whereby obstructed stoppage of rotation of any one or more of said sign units will cause one of said arms to upwardly elevate said obstructed sign unit into upper non-operating position wherein the studs connected to said obstructed unit will not be contacted by the arms of the adjacent sprocket.

2. In an advertising sign;

comprising a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units,

each of said sign bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper slidable shaft and 21 depending slidable aligned lower shaft;

a plurality of rotors operatively mounted on said lower shafts respectively, each of said rotors having three radial studs mounted at varying heights;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

a plurality of sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having three radial arms of varying lengths secured thereon;

said arms when rotated, being adapted to engage and push said rotors respectively to cause intermittent rotative movement of said sign-bearing units approximately 120 degrees;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units;

the obstruction of one or more of said units causing the studs of the rotors below said obstructed units to slide upwardly such obstructed units and rotors thereon out of driving engagement and to permit continued operation of the remaining sign units without damage to the driving means thereof.

3. In an advertising sign;

comprising a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units,

each of said sign-bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

said shafts being journalled for rotative and longitudinally slidable movement;

a plurality of transversely spaced rotors mounted on said lower shafts respectively, each of said rotors having a plurality of vertically spaced radial studs thereon in positions to rotate in substantially horizontal planes;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

a prime mover for selectively driving said shaft;

a plurality of driving sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft each of said sprockets having radial arms thereon,

said sprockets when rotated, being adapted to cause the arms thereon to engage and push said studs respectively to cause rotation of said sign-bearing units in parallel planes to approximately 120 degrees,

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

4. An advertising sign substantially as recited claim 3 and wherein each of the sign bearing units has a spring mounted below same, said springs being adapted to hold said units in upper elevated inoperative positions into which any of said units have been moved, when obstructed, by pushing movement of said arms.

5. In an advertising sign;

a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units,

each of said sign-bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending aligned lower shaft;

said shafts being journalled for rotative and longitudinally slidable movement;

a plurality of transversely spaced rotors carrying radial pins thereon mounted on said lower shafts respectively,

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

a clutch mechanism for transmitting power from said driven shaft to said rotors respectively having means 6 thereon for pushing upwardly the rotor of any obstructed sign-bearing unit, to thereby render said mechanism inoperative during maintenance of any unit in upper position;

the return of any of said units to downward position causing resumption of driving engagement of said returned units in mating sign-matching relation with the remainder of said units.

6. In an advertising sign;

a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units having matching faces rotatably mounted relative to said mounting bars;

each of said sign-bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

a plurality of driving members having vertically spaced radial pins thereon mounted on said lower shafts respectively;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

automatically disengageable clutch means operatively connected to said driven shafts and to said power driven shaft;

said clutch means being automatically movable to inoperative position by obstruction of rotation of any one of said units;

and a plurality of sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having a plurality of radial arms of varying length secured thereon;

said transverse shaft when rotated, being adapted to cause said clutch means to engage and successively cause intermittent partial rotation of said sign-bearing units;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

7. In an advertising sign;

a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units having matching faces rotatably mounted relative to said mounting bars;

each of said sign bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

a plurality of driving members being mounted on said lower shafts respectively and having vertically spaced radial pins thereon;

automatically disengageable clutch means operatively connected to said driven shafts and to said driven members, said clutch means being automatically movable to inoperative position by obstruction of rotation of any one of said louvers;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

and a plurality of sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having a plurality of radial arms of varying length secured thereon;

said transverse shaft when rotated, being adapted to cause said clutch means to engage and successively cause intermittent partial rotation of said sign bearing units;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

8. In an advertising sign;

a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units having matching faces rotatably mounted relative to said mounting bars;

each of said sign bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

a plurality of driving rotors having radial vertically spaced pins thereon mounted on said lower shafts respectively;

automatically disengageable clutch means operatively connected to said shafts and to said driving rotors;

said clutch means being automatically movable to inoperative position by obstruction of rotation of any one said louvers;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

said clutch means including a plurality of sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having a plurality of radial arms of varying length secured thereon;

said transverse shaft when rotated, being adapted to cause said clutch means to engage and successively cause intermittent partial rotation of said sign bearing units;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

9. In an advertising sign;

a casing having a display opening;

said casing having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units having matching faces rotatably mounted relative to said mounting bars;

each of said sign bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending parallel lower shaft;

a plurality of driving members operatively mounted on said lower shafts respectively; said driving members having a plurality of radially extending studs at vertically spaced apart planes,

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

and a plurality of sprockets mounted in transversely spaced apart relation on said driven shaft, each of said sprockets having a plurality of radial arms of varying length secured thereon;

said transverse shaft and said sprockets when rotated, being adapted to move said arms and successively push said studs of said driving members respectively to cause intermittent partial rotation;

to thereby successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

10. In a changeable advertising sign;

a frame having a display opening;

said frame having upper and lower apertured metal mounting bars;

a plurality of upwardly extending spaced apart triangularly faced sign-bearing units having matching faces rotatably mounted relative to said mounting bars;

each of said sign bearing units having mounted thereon a journalled upper shaft and a depending lower shaft, said sign units and shafts being mounted for upward and downward slidable movement;

a plurality of spaced apart rotors having radial pins thereon operatively mounted on said lower shafts respectively;

a transverse power driven shaft journalled in the lower portion of said casing;

means for releasably operatively connecting said transverse power driven shaft and said lower shafts respectively;

said releasable means being adapted to be disengaged as to a particular unit by obstruction of rotation of any of said units;

said units, when rotated, being adapted to successively present to view the correspondingly matching faces of said sign units.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,645 2/1918 Barnett -76 2,149,551 3/1939 Robert 4076 2,209,858 7/1940 Steiert 40-33 X EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. H. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ADVERTISING SIGN; COMPRISING A CASING HAVING A DISPLAY OPENING; SAID CASING HAVING UPPER AND LOWER APERTURED METAL MOUNTING BARS; A PLURALITY OF UPWARDLY EXTENDING SPACED APART TRIANGULARLY FACED SIGN-BEARING UNITS, EACH OF SAID SIGN-BEARING UNITS HAVING MOUNTED THEREON A JOURNALLED UPPER SHAFT AND A DEPENDING PARALLEL LOWER SHAFT; SAID SHAFTS ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID SIGN UNITS RELATIVE TO SAID BARS; A PLURALITY OF HUB MEMBERS OPERATIVELY MOUNTED ON SAID LOWER SHAFTS RESPECTIVELY, EACH OF SAID HUB MEMBERS HAVING A PLURALITY OF RADIAL STUDS MOUNTED IN DIFFERENT VERTICAL PLANES; A TRANSVERSE POWER DRIVEN SHAFT JOURNALLED IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID CASING; A PLURALITY OF DRIVING SPROCKETS MOUNTED IN TRANSVERSELY SPACED APART RELATION ON SAID DRIVEN SHAFT, EACH OF SAID SPROCKETS HAVING A PLURALITY OF RADIAL ARMS OF VARYING LENGTHS THEREON; SAID ARMS WHEN ROTATED, BEING ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AND PUSH SAID STUDS OF SAID HUBS RESPECTIVELY TO CAUSE INTERMITTENT PARTIAL ROTATION OF SAID SIGN-BEARING UNITS; TO THEREBY SUCCESSIVELY PRESENT TO VIEW THE CORRESPONDINGLY MATCHING FACES OF SAID SIGN UNITS; EACH ONE OF SAID ARMS BEING ADAPTED TO ENGAGE ONLY ONE OF SAID STUDS WHEREBY OBSTRUCTED STOPPAGE OF ROTATION OF ANY ONE OR MORE OF SAID SIGN UNITS WILL CAUSE ONE OF SAID ARMS TO UPWARDLY ELEVATE SAID OBSTRUCTED SIGN UNIT INTO UPPER NON-OPERATING POSITION WHEREIN STUDS CONNECTED TO SAID OBSTRUCTED UNIT WILL NOT BE CONTACTED BY THE ARMS OF THE ADJACENT SPROCKET. 